Under pressure

Yesterday's blog entry really felt kind of forced. I hadn't blogged in a little over a week, and I felt some pressure to do so. OK, it's not like I'm filled with witty observations about life, just the rambly day to day stuff that only those who know me might be interested in.

One thing I would like to clarify is how I really feel about the MS3 knitalong. I have found the whole thing quite amusing. I don't feel the same drive to be part of the Internet community, and I'm sure there are other knitters out there who just wanted to knit some lace. I have found it fascinating to see there are some people out there who must comment on every little item that gets posted to the list. In fact, I'm starting to see some of the same people on some of the other knitting lists I've joined. I'm amazed that with all the stuff that these people say they do (and there are so many more women out there homeschooling!) they have as much time as they do to read these endless, many times pointless messages and respond to them. I have the greatest admiration and sympathy for Melanie having to slog through all of them. She's a trooper. I scan the subject lines and hit delete quite a bit. See, not a bit of snarky commentary here.

It's a lovely day in Hotlanta today. The high is around 100 with an absolutely abysmal air quality. How I yearn for September. As we approach the autumnal equinox, at least the nights will begin to cool off slightly. The jet stream will shift, blowing out the humidity and bringing with it cooler air from the north, if the north pole hasn't melted by then. Even keeping our a/c at a not that comfortable 78 F, it runs constantly. I've found a volunteer oak tree that will shade our west facing house sometime in the next 10 years, but at only 4' tall it doesn't do much yet. It's been miserable ever since we had to take down the 2 sweet gum trees that were out front. They shaded the house and kept the temps somewhat lower. Unfortunately they had both been struck by lightning during their lifespans and were diseased and weakened from it. I miss them intensely right now.

This is Mr. Chubbikins, one of the few ferals I feed. He's been looking for a cool spot to hang out while waiting for breakfast. I'm not sure why he's decided this planter is that place, but he looks so cute. He still needs neutering, but since I've spayed all the available females, I think he can wait a few more weeks until the weather is a tiny bit cooler. Even the garage is toasty, and I don't want him to be horribly uncomfortable post-op. Behind him you can see the yarrow and mint are not enjoying the heat.

Here's Monster, freshly shaved last week, lurking in the cool wild violets. The cats won't stay out for very long with this heat. They rush out to potty in the garden, then melt on the pavement.

As usual, I am avoiding housework. I should be mopping, but I just finished some food prep. I went for the annual poke and prod today, where I get the fun of discussing my weight with the doctor. It turns out my doctor, a very petite woman, does 1 hour of aerobic exercise every day, 7 days a week. Obesity runs in her family, and she works like mad to stay healthy. I had planned to go grocery shopping at the farmer's market afterwards anyway since I skipped it yesterday. I was inspired to leave those delectable carbs off the list except for some whole grain organic cereals. The problem with eating fresh stuff is that you have to fix it, and each week I spend some time doing food prep. I have cleaned celery, baby carrots and cucumber. I have steamed broccoli and chopped/deseeded watermelon. I did skip the gym today, and I told myself that I would pack up tonight so I would have no excuse not to go tomorrow. The most recent case of poison ivy is almost all gone, so I won't gross out anyone using the weight machines after me. (Very mild case this time, only 2 small blister areas.) I think next time I pull weeds I'll have to find something disposable to cover my arms. Poison ivy is an irritant that has a cumulative effect. You can be exposed to it and not have reactions for years, then all of a sudden you will start reacting. Lucky me. I hit critical toxin mass earlier this year which has been a real inconvenience since it grows all over the place. I have to wear a hazmat suit to pull it up.

I've goofed off enough now. Time to tackle the futility of mopping a white kitchen floor. Next time I'm going for Georgia clay red.

The theme has been revealed!

The theme for Mystery Stole 3, that is. Clue 5 and the theme reveal came out this past Friday, and quite frankly, it has been amusing to watch all the chatter about it. Swan Lake is the theme, and one side of the stole is going to have short rows for shaping like a wing. It's been like watching a virtual ant colony get stirred by a stick. Some love it, some hate it, and what I keep thinking is - it's just knitting! Get a grip. One person was very upset about the waste of time and materials. In my mind, any time spent knitting is great. Sure, there are projects that go on way too long, but eventually they get done. And if I don't like it, I'm pretty fearless about ripping it all out. (Or letting it sit - there is always something else to knit).

So what's been going on here that's kept me from blogging? The after effects of my birthday. I had a great birthday this year lootwise. My family checked my Amazon wishlist and showered me with knitting books and DVD's of bizarre cartoons. I've worked my way through Alf Tales, disc one of season one of Pinky and The Brain, and 2 discs of season 2 of Futurama. Not to mention that with all this knitting I may just wear out my Predator DVD. However, our DVD player is acting up - it won't play some of them which can be frustrating.

It's been interesting at Knit Night at the store. I have been staying for it even though it conflicts with yoga. Knit Night was originally a summer event, and hopefully I'll be back at yoga again in September. I really miss it, and none of the other class times are as convenient as this one is. I also think this is the only class Twiglet teaches. (The woman who teaches yoga is just the tiniest little thing.) Anyway, we had a conversation about movies one night. I must admit that during my college days I went to see art films or foreign films with subtitles. That's what you do when you go to a liberal arts college. Then I met Keith and started hanging out with him and his buddies. I was almost always the only woman along, and I usually had a lot of fun. And more to the point, I started going to action adventure movies instead of pseudo-intellectual fare. Well, I did drag Keith to see Eraserhead. So now I'd much rather watch Clint or Arnold than some film that going to make me think or bring me down, but one of my friends from the shop is always telling me how I need to see whatever meaningful movie it is that she's just seen. I really feel like been there, done that, now I want some fun. She wants to watch Babel; I'd rather watch the Mummy. It was so lovely to hear several of the other folks say how they prefer to be entertained that made to feel sad from a movie. Anyway, we've reached movie detente. We both like spaghetti westerns, so the next knit night at her house will probably include The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. (I'm just waiting for the Sergio Leone box set to come down a bit in price - I must have it).

As for Brownie, she's still on the slippery slope of ill health in the elderly cat. She will officially turn 18 sometime in the next week or so. I don't know her actual birthdate. I'm not sure I ever had that info, but I do know she and Pixel were born in August. Pixel is still very spry although she doesn't do much grooming anymore and isn't the most cooperative when it comes to getting brushed. She still seems healthier than Brownie which is good. I'm not looking forward to having to medicate more than one each day. However, it beats the alternative. These girls are my first ever cats, and I don't look forward to the day when they are no longer with us.

See, really no reason to blog at all. The UT blanket seems neverending, but that's because I have other things I'd rather be knitting. I'm at the heel turn of my first toe up sock, which is pretty exciting. I'm just barely into clue 4 of MS3, and I've got about 2 inches of cuff for Keith's second grey & blue sock. I've finally decided what to make for Honi's wedding too, so I've got wind yarn for that as soon as I get the blanket finished.

Terribly Remiss

Hello all,

Lately it seems my days off have been filled with things other than the fun stuff. How does so much laundry build up?

I'm working away on Mystery Stole 3. I'm about 1/3 of the way through clue 3. I am so glad that we don't get a clue this week because so many people are reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I need this week off to attempt to catch up.

And yes, I was one of those who preordered from Amazon on 2/1/07. I received the book on Saturday. When I got home from work I started reading, much to Keith's chagrin. I told him to leave me alone and let me read. It's not like this was some big surprise. The sooner I finished, the sooner I'd be back in the world. I finished around 1:20 a.m. Sunday morning. Honestly, there was no way I'd be able to sleep wondering what had happened to Harry and Voldemort. And all those hints of who might die...I just had to know. Now I do, and no spoilers from me.

I'm starting to really enjoy the laceknitting except for the obstacles I have to work around. It is not mindless knitting, and I've found the Keith is not always willing to let me sit and knit something that requires concentration. There was a whole thread about husbands and knitting that I didn't read on the MS3 group, but I think I must check it out and see if anyone can offer any good advice. From what I've heard occasionally at the shop, it seems a lot of men are jealous of the time their wives spend knitting. Quite frankly, with a simple project, I can actually pay better attention since I'm not thinking of what else I should be doing. It allows me to multitask in what I think of as a pretty positive way. Anytime you go to a knitting group you see knitters have meaningful conversations while the needles go the entire time. It's probably the same way I wonder if he's really listening to me if he's playing his guitar while I'm talking to him.

Anyway, I've got to be brief today since it's a work day. As usual, I plan to fill you in with pictures this weekend. Maybe I can complete clue 3 before then.

Brief update

Yes, I know I've been neglectful of my blog. I've been busy! Mystery Stole 3 is very slowly coming along, as is the UT blanket. Also, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out on Saturday, and I decided I needed to reread the others before then. I've just started Goblet of Fire, so I have lots of reading to do before Saturday.



In other news, we purchased a new vacuum cleaner. We got the one I wanted. I saw it in Consumer Reports as the best value in the canister vacuums. Sears had it on sale, which made it even more appealing. I had procrastinated getting a new one since the old still sort of worked. However, sort of is not good enough when there is a whole house to be cleaned. Hopefully this is the last largish household purchase for some time. We had to get a new lawnmower earlier this year since the old one gave up the ghost. I guess when your appliances are 15 - 20 years old, they do need to be replaced. We're not sure how old the vacuum is, but it's at least 16-17 years, and the lawnmower was 15. Like I said, hopefully this is the last one for some time. After all, I have kitties in the same age range, and they take up some cash too.



Anyway, I'll post pictures of the knitting a bit later today. I REALLY need to clean house some now that I've got the proper tools. (Well, I have to check the Swiffer pad/solution inventory to make sure I've got all the proper tools.) I do have a few places that need hands & knees scrubbing, like in front of the kitchen sink, but Swiffer works great everywhere else.

Play The Ecstasy of Gold in your mind as I ponder the agony of lace. I am on a quest to find 2 stitches.

(Re: The Ecstasy of Gold - here's the Mellatica version if you prefer)

Last night I embarked onto clue 2. I had nearly completed row 101 when I noticed I was 2 stitches short. I tinked halfway back since it looked like the center was correct and reknit the row. Still 2 stitches short. I tinked the whole row and counted stitches. 2 short. I went and pulled out clue 1. I thought I had completed it, but row 99 was not marked off. I started to knit row 99 and realized that I had already knitted it. Hmm. What in the world have I done? I tinked what I had just done, tinked back to the wrong side of row 95. Still 2 short. I spent some time comparing my lace to the chart. I can't see where I've gone amiss. All my yarnovers look like the chart. My last known to be correct lifeline is on row 77. Augh!!!! I hate to think I'll have to undo that much knitting. However, I may just have to in order to get back on track. At some point when I was knitting on Thursday night, I quit counting the stitches on the completed rows since it seemed I was getting to the end and having the correct amount of stitches to finish. Obviously, I got cocky. Perhaps I'll be able to get some work done on it tonight, but I won't plan on it. My knitting and tinking were very interrupted last night by both Keith and one of the kitties. I may just work on Keith's sock since I've barely touched it since cast on, but most probably the UT baby blanket.

BTW, The Agony of Lace is the title for today's post, but Blogger won't let me near the title line today.

A longer post tomorrow.

Clue 1 Finished!

As you can see, I finished MS3's clue 1 last night around 11:30 p.m. I wanted to get it finished before clue 2 was released this morning. Yes, I've already gotten clue 2, taped my charts together and looked longingly at it before putting it away. Yes, I wish I could stay home and knit, but instead I'll be at work, probably knitting on a hat before the day's over.

The latest knit bag accessory

A little something to keep that yarn good and tangled, not to mention it helps a lot when spit splicing wool!

Here's the updated picture of the UT blanket.

As for the Mystery Stole 3, all I can say is thank goodness for lifelines. Since I haven't done any lace before, I read all info on lifelines voraciously. I had put a lifeline in and remembered for the first time to mark it on my chart so I would know what row it was on. I knit for a couple of more rows, then saw a nickle sized hole in the lace! I had dropped a stitch in one of the areas with yarnovers, and I knew I had to rip. Luckily, the lifeline was on line 65, and I dropped the stitch on line 69. Not too much to rip. At that point I put the stole away (it was 11:00 p.m.). I'm looking for a good place to take a picture of it - someplace where the lovely pale grey will show up.

In the wildlife update, the hummingbird was back this morning, looking for nectar. Since my usually lush butterfly bushes are barely growing this year, I've decided that I probably should get a hummingbird feeder. I'm a sucker for wildlife, as you may have guessed from reading this. Heck, I put in extra parsley last year for the tiger swallowtails to use for their caterpillars. I need a new regular birdfeeder anyway as the one I have is about to fall apart. I won't get one with any wooden parts again. The squirrels gnaw through the wood. I'm not one of those who gets all bent out of shape about the squirrels raiding the feeder, but I don't like finding the feeding gnawed into bits from my beautiful, fat, well fed, but greedy squirrels. Besides, in her youth Brownie killed squirrels (and chipmunks and rabbits) with amazing regularity, and I think she likes to occasionally watch them in her old age.

I'll probably wait until I finish clue 1 to post the stole picture, so look for it in the next few days. And while I'm thinking about it, I switched to Addi Lace Needles. They are amazing! They are so wonderful with the Zephyr and doing the yarnovers.

One more thing. Go out and buy some of Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream. It is very yummy - a vanilla ice cream with chocolate coated waffle cone bits and fudge. He's donating his proceeds to charity. Read about it here.